The public health campaign “Back to Sleep,” geared toward putting infants to sleep on their backs, helped reduce the rate of SIDS by more than 50%.

But now, a new study published in Pediatrics also shows that SIDS rates have stabilized in recent years, so there's more work to be done. There are about 2,500 SIDS deaths per year in the U.S.

In the new study, "the vast majority" of the babies who died from SIDS still had a sleep-related risk factor, "so just following the [American Academy of Pediatrics] guidelines for infant sleeping could have a dramatic impact on deaths,” says researcher Henry F. Krous, MD, who directs the San Diego Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Research Project at Rady Children’s Hospital.

Those guidelines:

Always put babies to sleep on their backs -- not on their stomachs or sides.

Cribs should have a tightly fitted mattress and no other bedding (no pillows, blankets, bumper pads, or soft toys).